I have a voracious bunny family living under my deck whose motto is "Eat at Joe's." I've had to keep my floating row covers on--a minor pain--but they work.

I have a ton of squirrels, but they haven't bothered the containers or the raised beds so far. Of course, I feed them peanuts. They're either stuffed or suffering from salmonella poisoning. You might try it. ;-)

Prof

Something is having a tidy feast at my house. The radishes are all missing leaves and my dusty millers in the front are mere stalks (and these were in CONTAINERS!!). The pansies are also missing leaves (and the yellow ones must be tastier because they're half as large as the purples).

Suspicions: bunnies, slugs (boy we always get tons of those but I've treated for them already), cats.

Any ideas? I'm a new gardener and am working my way out of ignorance regarding pests. :)

Sopamanda, I usually blame the rabbits when leaves are chewed off, but I've never had a big slug problem. Around here, the squirrels dig up containers and leave a mess but don't seem to eat the plants. But the deer are the biggest pests of all. I keep my WS containers on the deck because it's fenced in and built off our second floor, so the deer haven't yet discovered how to reach those plants. Just about everything I'm attempting to grow is supposed to be deer resistant.

Prof, people who feed squirrels just help them make more squirrels. Is this really necessary? :)

"Prof, people who feed squirrels just help them make more squirrels. Is this really necessary? :) "

This is definitely true in this neighborhood, when I had "birdseed" out Id have, like, 20 squirrels in my yard. Without it, there's one or two. I had to stop feeding the "birds".

My SIL gave me a really nice "bird"feeder as a housewarming present. Along with a nice bag of "birdseed" which included dried cherries and other stuff. She works at petsmart, where she gets these crazy ideas about feeding the 'birds'.

I had to call her one morning and tell her, HEY! GUESS WHAT!!! There's a bird on my squirrel feeder!!!

So, not so much birdfeeding going on. Im going to experiment with growing safflower and millet for the birdies this year. Im a little sceptical, cause somebody "STOLE" the first six seedlings that came up, luckily, there's a few that survived.

There are no squirrels where I live. There are not even many squirrel nests in the trees in this area. There are lots of Red-tail hawks, Eagles, and hunters. However, the bunnies are another story, one showed up on Easter Sunday to chew on something in my garden. We have to wrap young trees so they won't eat the bark over the winter.

Well, I'm an animal lover and feed everybody. I'm Italian--"You need to eat!" I have a squirrel feeder, four bird feeders, a bat house, a pond whose fish provides an occasional meal to the local egret, bunnies and groundhogs.

And I'm in the middle of suburbia.

It's been my experience that providing some sustenance goes a long way in protecting my gardens. The squirrels are practically tame as are the birds. I actually had (this is unbelievable) a cardinal land on the dog's back last year.

We all get along and I cope. For me, there's nothing better than sitting on the patio, watching the birds and squirrels, and having a bunny prance around with two Dobermans at my feet.

Prof.
I agree.
Right now, we have a squirrel in our owl house,she has made a nice nest,we watched her carry many,many,mouthful of leaves up and into the hole,then she covered up the entrance,we are assuming she has had her babies,and is in nursing mode,you wouldn't know how long she will stay in would you?
cAROL

Get an owl. I watched one hop into a squirrel's nest yesterday. It left with something small and whiny. That's one less crocus bulb I'll lose this winter.

Token..how exactly do you "get" an owl? I have a naturally occurring Cooper's Hawk that eats mourning doves, and I would mos def trade that bird for one that eats squirrels!
Craigslist perhaps?
{{gwi:372541}}

I agree with Prof. The birds and other animals need to be fed as well. That being said as long as I feed the tree rats (squirrels) as I call them they leave my plants adn bulbs alone.

We have one main feeder and two hanging feeders 2 suet feeders and then the squirrel feeder and a place for the ear of corn. We go thru about 20 or so pounds of birdseed a week. And in a few weeks I will clean up the 3 hummeringbird feeders and get them ready to go out.

And we saw a bunny the other day checking out the bottom of the feeder area. And we once in awhile see a chipmunk as well.

I love the birds. I also like seeing the yellow finches "attach" my purple coneflowers and zinnias" That lets me know some of the seeds are ready to be collected.

Paula

My cat usually takes care of the smaller varmits, including squirrels. I did, however watch a squirrel a few weeks ago plant a walnut under the lilacs.
He/she had it in his mouth, found the spot, dug a hole, checked that it was deep enough to cover the nut, dug deeper when it wasn't deep enough, then placed the nut in the hole and covered the nut with soil, finally, patted down the soil to firm it over the nut.

All the while I was watching the squirrel I was thinking of a way to domesticate the critter to help me plant seedlings or move perennials when I divide them.
That would be Utopia, right?

Wendy, I'm not sure how I came to have one. Well, two actually. Last summer one showed up in the woods behind/beside the house. This year, he has a mate. You can hear them calling to each other just before sunset. They are so cool to watch. It's really creepy when they watch you, though.

{{gwi:372543}}

cAROL: I know they don't start weaning until they're 7-8 weeks old. Mom will stick close by for quite a while.

I would love to have an owl hang out, but could do without the hawk. I have a ton of mourning doves--one of my favorites.

I do have a Downy Woodpecker, though. Drove me crazy with hammering until I put up a pecker feeder.

Prof

Cool owl Token! The owls and hawks have to eat too. Buzylizzy, I love your description of the squirrel planting the walnut. It would be great if we could get those buggars to plant seedlings! And Prof, a "pecker feeder"??? That's a new one, LOL!

I feed the birds too, have 3 small feeders mounted on 2 poles. Both poles have squirrel/raccoon baffles. As long as the squirrel can't jump from a nearby branch to get to a feeder, the baffles are foolproof and keep off the squirrels, raccoons and chipmunks.

Sometimes I scatter seed and tidbits on the ground, and lots of the seed falls to the ground. The fussy Chickadees pull out one sunflower seed after another and drop it on the ground until they get just the seed they want. This gives the squirrels plenty of stuff to eat on the ground. Their numbers have not noticeably increased, and they haven't ever bothered anything in the gardens or the WS containers either. (This is a rural suburb with plenty of natural food too.)

The deer are not a big problem, either, but they do mow down the tulips every Spring!

terrene: Where've you been, you never heard of a pecker feeder? ;-)

It looks like a suet holder, but has an extension on the bottom for the woodpecker to prop its tail against while it feeds. I believe it does this for stability.

I just put pecker suet in it (it's gross--ground up peanuts and insects) and the guy loves it.

Prof

I love watching the animals. Our hawk is here for a second year, probably a baby of our neighbor's hawk. Before the trees filled in with green, we could see two owls courting. The roadrunner comes and goes, as do the wild turkeys. Armadillo moms and their brood of babies forage blindly but loudly. And of course where the armadillos eat, so do the skunks. We've got several nests of hummingbirds and they feed on wintersown plants throughout the property. There's not much evidence of the northern migration of the Monarchs, but the southern migration covers us up. Ladybugs are plentiful in late spring until the aphids are gone, and rodent-eating snakes give us an adrenalin surge a few times per summer.

I'm neutral on squirrels as they don't do much damage. Racoons are another matter. I've had more than 50 hauled off and they just keep coming. They dig up tomato plants just for fun. If they'd just leave them in place, we could all eat. Three summers ago I watched them climb a brick wall to my upstairs balcony. Unfortunately there's no legal way to get rid of them for good. Wildlife conservation my hiney! We're overpopulated with deer too. While they are amazing to watch, there are just too many. I have mixed feelings about the one or two sphinx moths I see per year. They are fascinating, but the flip side of the coin is their tomato-eating larvae, the hornworm. Red wasps mostly keep the hornworms in check so I stay out of the mix.

Wow! As I read this I'm starting to think it's a pretty cool place to live. I've never written down a list of critters before, but I think I should keep adding as I think of more. Great thread!

The owl house that "Miss Twiggy"(our squirrel)has taken over, at one time housed a Screech owl,cute little guy,until he-she-at all my Koi.I had about 16,i raised from babies, they were my pets,and i loved them dearly.We were dumb enough to place the house right above the pond,never in a million years did we think it would eat our fish.We do not have proof.but coon can not get in the pond it is 4 feet deep, and they would have left something behind,they are messy eaters,the pond is right out side our front porch, where i would have seen any big bird,the fish were taken some time in Feb.we saw them in December.Not even a tail was left,nothing!
This year, we will only have our frogs,which i also love,you should have heard them last night,tree frogs,sending out their matting call, it was beautiful.In a few more weeks, we will have toads and other frogs calling,they are so loud, you can hear them inside the house,ha ha
No more fish,it is to heart breaking to lose them,but water plants and frogs are just as nice.
We also have wild turkey,deer(to many) owls,several different ones,lots of birds, hawks(to many)coon,coyote,fox(on occasion)lots of wood peckers, we even had a Pleaded Wood pecker come through here last week it was SOOOOOOOOO exciting, he came through last year also.
And lots of squirrels,Lots!Every thing in nature is so fun to watch,we can learn a lot,i have great stories i could share,another time perhaps.
This is a great thread.

Prof.
I will be watching our little Miss Twiggy,named so because she carried up many twigs into her nest,i can't wait to see them babies so close, the house is just out side our front porch.What a treat.
cAROL

cAROL: Probably the most exotic thing I've had here is the egret--a regular visitor in Spring and Fall. My ponds are right outside my back room, so I can see them clearly. The first time this guy/gal arrived, it scared the crap out of me--I had never been so close to such a huge bird.

He jumped in the pond, quickly swallowed about three large goldfish (whole, I might add), and then found my bullfrog hiding in the plants. One gulp!

That was it. I ran out of the house screaming like a banshee and he simply took off and landed on the roof. Sat there for a while, too, bold as brass.

I was upset about the fish but more upset about the frog. He was huge and I had had him about three years.

In retrospect, I had too many fish and was wracking my brain about what to do (these were the days before Freecycle). I came to realize that the vists were really a "gift" -- nature's way of keeping my population stable and healthy, and maintaining the food chain.

Oh Prof.
I am sorry about your bull frog, i know what you mean, mine will eat out of my hand,you should have seen them when the cicada were here a few years ago,they would just wait for me to feed them,any one else comes around, they jump in the water,you can make friends out of every living thing i do believe.
If i would have had just gold fish, it would not have been so bad, but my koi were my babies, well, i take that back, i am sure your Goldie's are your babies also,I apologize,those birds are huge, once they find a food source, they will hand around a long time i hear.
cAROL

Oh, sheesh, no need to apologize. I started with koi, then added some really beautiful goldfish to the ponds. One summer, the local refinery had a meltdown and spewed a cloud of ash and dust all over northern Delaware.

Within 24 hours all the koi died. I was beside myself--had them for years, too. Not one goldfish died. I ran over to my pond guy (up the road), and he was in tears. His entire stock of koi ($12,000 worth) perished overnight. All his goldfish made it through.

These guys are tough, but no match for the egret. Interesting to watch natural selection over the last few years--the egret grabs the whites and golds--the blacks and multi-colors are able to hide and avoid becoming a meal. They breed like crazy for me, but the pond is slowly becoming filled with darker-colored fish.

I was watering tonight and a mouse ran out from my containers. I thought I had killed the lettuce but looking closer it looks like the mouse may have been in that big container and the other kitty litter ones I have. the other one you can see where something squeezed in and dug in it. makes me so mad!!!

I am ready to put out poison but I am not that mean (yet ;) I may do some traps though.

karen